Preview: Tauron New Music Festival in Katowice, Poland

We’re midway through summer already which means that the festival season is gradually coming to an end. While most of the big mainstream events are already in the past, there is still something to look forward to before the next academic season starts.

Tauron New Music Festival in Katowice, Poland, is known worldwide as the best small festival in Europe (winner of the plebiscite in 2013 and 2014). At the same time it is a festival of discoveries. Almost every big name of recent years in the alternative music industry played on Tauron before they became big. The organisers take care to bring to Katowice young promising artists who often haven’t released a longplay yet. In past years those that have played here include Years & Years, Elliphant, Sohn, and Apparat. Each year’s edition is special. The organisers make sure that the best small festival in Europe keeps its place on top of the podium. This year’s edition, however, will be even more extraordinary however as it will be celebrating its tenth year.

WHO? As usual, this year there will be five stages with music from various genres; from electronic to classical. The line-up contains mostly acts from Poland and UK. There are also representatives from Germany, Denmark, Hungary, Czech Republic and United States. Among them we will find Tauron newbies as well as bigger stars. From the latter, most of those going will be looking forward to the return of electronic magician of melancholy Apparat, who opens the festival, and modern piano poet Nihls Frahm. Moreover, there’ll be legends of electronic music in the form of British duo Autechre; soulful and melancholic Jamie Woon; and a collaboration between Olafur Arnaldsand Janus Rasmussenfrom Bloodgroupin a new project – Kiasmos.

DISCOVER! On its 10th edition Tauron is very much focused on great young Polish artists. Therefore, there will be the energetic electro-pop artist Julia Marcell who keeps conquering the German music stage; Natalia Przybysz who is a recent diva of the Polish stage with a voice sharp like Janis Joplin; the revelation of smart hip-hop that is Taco Hemingway; the captivating and disturbing electro-pop star Mary Komasa; Królwho mixes ambient with indie in melancholic poetic songs; and a breath of fresh air in cheerful electronic, WE DRAW A. Apart from Polish acts we’ll hear a revelation from UK who was recognised by the major newspapers as one of the artists to look out or in 2015 – Kwabs; Swedish young diva of funk and soul Fatima; and soulful electronic-indie Canadian duo Rhye.

WHERE? Katowice itself is quite an unusual city. It’s industrial, full of typical tall and grey blocks of flats, but it also contains some buildings typical of German architecture. In its ugliness lies beauty, captivation and inspiration.

HOW MUCH? There are six types of tickets: four, three, two and one day tickets and also tickets for the closing concert. The prices vary from 280 PLN (£48) and 130 PLN (£22). All relevant information is available here.

HOW TO GET THERE? Katowice has its own airport which is one of the cheapest in Poland. Both Ryanair and Wizzair fly there frequently. From there all you have to do is to get a bus to the centre and from there another one to the festival’s location – The Silesian Museum. The tent field is located quite far away from the museum but there are frequent free buses which get festival-goers to both places until late.